Thanks for the votes in the BTB Awards. Much appreciated. I marked out.

Sorry but this SmackDown! is in recap. Back to full shows for the last week before Mania though. One promo is written out in full, as I feel it’s rather vital since the match has lacked a bit of “official” hype and it introduces new character traits and NEW WRESTLERS~! New wrestlers right before Mania? Oh yeah.

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SmackDown; March 23rd, 2007; Chicago, Illinois:

Joey Styles and Tazz welcome us to the broadcast, hyping up our two main events, consisting of Batista & Flair versus Kennedy & Sabin and vengeful rivals, The Rock & Triple H versus Mark Henry & Kane.
The first match of the night takes place with the WWE Tag Titles on the line, The Hooligans defending against Shelton Benjamin and Gregory Helms. The four VERY talented superstars tear it up, kicking off the night by putting on one of the best contests that we’ve seen in quite a long time.
The finish comes when Kendrick and Helms are taken out of the equation when Kendrick performs a Shooting Star Press off of the turnbuckle onto Helms on the ground below, leaving Benjamin and London in the ring. With Shelton down, London climbs to the top but Benjamin KIPS UP and charges - but London leaps over the top of him! London turns around and Shelton hit’s the T-BONE SUPLEX!! The ref gets to two but the bell rings, signaling a 20 minute time limit DRAW!
After everything cools down, Helms and Benjamin show their disapproval, actually gaining sympathy and applause from the fans as Kendrick looks somewhat … disgusted with his tag team partner.
Backstage, The Rock arrives to the arena, receiving a thunderous ovation as Styles and Tazz hype up his tag team match with his archrival, Triple H, here tonight.

After a commercial break, we get the second match of the night, with Jeff Hardy taking on Christopher Daniels. Daniels and Hardy put on a solid match up, and though their stars seem to clash a bit, they mesh well together with Jeff getting in the majority of the offense. In the end though, it’s Daniels who picks up the victory, managing to hit The Angel’s Wings after a distraction from Danger, picking up the pinfall at 7:03.

Backstage, Josh Matthews stands by with Triple H and asks him about his tag team match, teaming with Rock here tonight. Hunter goes on and on about how Rock will have to coexist with him tonight, knowing that he’ll end Rock’s career nine days from now. H then says he won’t do anything tonight, but at WrestleMania, he’s putting the final nail in the coffin of Rock’s career.

Raw Rebound

Inside of a locker room, King Booker and Queen Sharmell talk, very intently, though the they are out of earshot of the camera. Styles and Tazz hype up Booker addressing the crowd on the U.S. Title Match signed for WrestleMania.

Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio wrestle one another in the third match of the night. Mysterio and Hardy show their typical chemistry, putting on a good match for the fans in attendance. Hardy dominates the opening minutes until Rey’s speed and athleticism become a problem. Towards the end of the match, Daniels appears at the top of the ramp and distracts Mysterio long enough to be on the receiving end of a Twist of Fate, and the pinfall victory at 8:12.
Daniels smiles at the top of the ramp at a downed Mysterio, getting one up on his WrestleMania opponent, nine days before the clash. Cut to break.

***Royalty*** The crowd boos as King Booker and Queen Sharmell step onto the stage and Book raises up his pinky to even more heat. The two then continue on down the ring, stepping in and grabbing a microphone.

King Booker: My humble servants of my SmackDown! Kingdom, at WrestleMania 23, the first day of April, your lord, King Bookah, will be challenging for the prestigious United States Championship in a Fatal Four Way Match, also featuring PEASANTS like the current U.S. Champion William Regal (mixed reaction), that turncoat Finlay (mixed reaction) and that ROAGUE Bobby Lashley!

The crowd cheers for Lashley as King Booker sneers at the audience.

King Booker: And what a shame it was when I first learned of this new match. I shouldn’t even be able to challenge for this match; I should’ve been handed a spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match! And before that I should’ve been handed a spot in the main event of WrestleMania 23 instead of scoundrels like Dave Batista and Mister Kennedy!

KENNEDY

King Booker: But since our General Manager has shown nothing but disrespect for King Bookah, I’m not shocked that this is the case. But make no mistake about it, I will be leaving Ford Field with the United States Championship around my waist after I vanquish my three foes who aren’t worthy enough to lace up the boots of KING BOOK-AH, let alone be in the same ring as I.

Heat.

King Booker: And just like Stephanie McMahon doesn’t appreciate King Bookah, that match is filled with people who don’t appreciate King Bookah. First, there was Sir David Finlay. He was doing NOTHING - absolutely NOTHING before I took him into my Court. But the second that he thinks he had the upper hand on King Bookah, he got all uppity. But you know what happened, he was bested soon enough by the Lord of SmackDown!

‘Asshole’ chant starts up, cutting Book off.

King Booker: Then there was Sir William Regal, who had the audacity to attack King Bookah simply because I “abandoned” him in a tag team match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Booker shakes his head in disgust.

King Booker: Let’s get this cleared up right now. I would NEVER abandon a tag team partner of mine. I have asthma and I was feeling a potential uprising so I went to the back. That’s all that happened!!

Booker begins to cough wildly and Sharmell checks on him, as a ‘Bullshit’ chant starts up. Book finally shakes it off and continues.

King Booker:(One last cough) Excuse me. And as for that disgusting peasant, Robert “Bobby” Lashley (pop). He needs to get himself in place because the next time that he gets into MY face, I foresee a misunderstanding of grave and perilous consequences for young Robert. Now, all of you join in as my lovely queen, Sharmell, says the most holy of holy phrases.

Booker hands the mic to Sharmell.

Queen Sharmell: … All hail … King Booker!! All hail … King Booker!! All hail … King Booker!! All hail … King Booker!! All hail … King Booker!!

***Born Naughty*** The crowd gives a mixed reaction as the United States Champion William Regal steps out onto the stage, dressed in a grey suit, title belt folded up under his arm, microphone in hand.

William Regal: Just what in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?

Booker takes the mic from Sharmell.

King Booker: How dare you!? How dare you!? How dare you interrupt my Queen or myself. I’M KING BOOKAH!!

Heat.

William Regal: I’ve got news for you, Booker, you’re not a King, nor are you English. You’re a black man from Houston, Texas, playing dress-up and if you don’t watch your step, sunshine, you’re going to find yourself on the receiving in of a couple of left hands! Do you catch my drift?
The crowd actually pops for Regal as Booker looks disgusted, slowly taking his crown off and handing it to his wife.

King Booker:(Drops English accent) You didn’t just say that. Somebody tell me you did not - just - say that!

William Regal: Oh, I said it and tell you something else. If you, Bobby Lashley, or Finlay think that you’re going to walk into WrestleMania 23 and just take my United States Championship, you’ve got another thing coming.

Booker rolls his eyes.

William Regal: I’ve been wrestling for so many years, and gotten into so many wars, I’ve almost lost track of them all, but the fact is, when we head into Ford Field on the grandest stage of them all, with millions of fans watching, it’s going to be the biggest night in my career, the biggest night in yours, the biggest night in Lashley’s and the biggest night in Finlay’s, and I’ll be damned if it’ll end badly for myself.

King Booker: I’ve been on the big stage before, Regal, this is nothing new to me. You dig what I’m sayin. King Bookah was born for the big stages. So this is a big deal for you, but this is just another day for me, dawg when I take that championship.

William Regal: Believe me, Booker, this United States Championship means far more than that piece of tin you held five times … five times … five times … five times … FIVE TIMES!

OH! Booker’s eyes light up with anger as he takes off his blazer.

King Booker: Enough of the talkin’! Regal, bring your ass down here and receive your royal ass-whoopin at the hands of KING BOOKAH!

Regal takes a second, slowly taking off his suit jacket, folding it up and placing it on the ground and then placing his United States Championship on top of it. Regal then takes off his tie and sprints down the entrance ramp!! Booker readies himself as Regal slides in and the brawl is on with the two veterans teeing off on one another!

Soon enough, it’s Regal who gains the advantage, knocking Booker down with a clothesline!! Regal then begins to wail away on him, but Sharmell leaps onto Regal’s back! Booker then LOW BLOWS Regal, sending him down to the canvas in a heap! Booker then stomps away on him over and over and over again!!

Finally, FINLAY sprints down the entrance ramp, wanting him some of Booker! Finlay slides in and blocks a right hand from Booker before lighting the 5x WCW Champ up with hard shots of his own, backing him up into the corner!

Suddenly though, a young black man, dressed in a shirt and jeans, braids in his hair leaps over the ring apron and into the ring, attacking Finlay from behind!! The kid stomps away on the Irishman as Sharmell cheers him on.

Now, BOBBY LASHLEY sprints down to the ring, receiving a great ovation from the fans, before sliding into the ring!! Lashley cleans house, taking the unknown youngster down with a clothesline, and once Booker gets up, he’s taken down with a strong back elbow!

The Real Deal dominates like only he can … until another black man, dressed much like the first in a shirt and jeans, though MUCH larger and with shorter hair, climbs over the ring barricade and into the ring!! The large man and Lashley come face to face and the crowd gets excited, these two men almost identical in size and stature. Neither man looks ready to back down an inch until Sharmell hits a LOW BLOW on Lashley, keeling him over.

The large man then grabs Lashley by the hand and shoots him off the ropes, before he bounces off the ropes himself and catches Lashley with a strong leaping shoulder tackle, sending Lashley tumbling through the ropes and out of the ring!!!

The man then lifts Regal up and holds him, allowing the recovered Booker to just tee off on him with right hands before dragging Regal into the corner. The first man to help Booker gets up to his feet and then charges forward, leaping into the air and driving his knees right into the back of the U.S. Champion!!!

Finlay gets back up to his feet and attempts to strike anything that moves, managing to catch Booker and company with the wild right hand or two but eventually he’s beat down as well, and then receives a SCISSORS KICK for his effort!!

The crowd boos as Booker raises his pinky into the air, as all three of his opponents lay out in the ring, his queen by his side, and apparently, these two new and clearly talented men by his side.
After a commercial break, Booker and company head out of the arena but are soon accosted by Kristal Marshall. Booker introduces the unknown stars as “The Express” Elijah Burke and “The Alpha Male” Monty Brown, before stating he’ll take the U.S. Title at WrestleMania 23. The New King’s Court then head out of the arena.

Our first main event of the night takes place with Triple H and The Rock taking on Mark Henry and Kane. Decent match-up. Henry and Kane perform solidly enough and believe it or not, Rock and Triple H manage to coexist, working together with obvious tension between the two though obviously. The ending comes though when Rock hits The Rock Bottom on Kane and then tags in Hunter. Triple H comes in and … PEDIGREES THE ROCK!!! H then drags Kane on top of Rock before rolling out of the ring and smirking, backing up the ramp as the crowd boos furiously as the ref counts the three at 9:45.

Inside of his locker room, Rey Mysterio sits watching his television, remote in hand. Chavo Guerrero is on the screen as Mysterio apparently watches footage of Chavo’s interview from last week. He rewinds and plays the same part of Chavo’s speech over and over referring to the Mysterio-Daniels WrestleMania match …“A lot of people could say this match up should’ve taken place so I didn’t have to put my career on the line … but that’s neither here nor there.” Rey rewinds it and watches again and again before he holds his head in his hands, shaking his head, miserable, before we cut away.

Elsewhere, Triple H walks down the hall, beaming as the crowd boos him wildly. Hunter soon stops as he stares at the GM, Stephanie McMahon. Steph says she warned H about turning on The Rock and Hunter responds by stating Steph won’t possibly effect her WrestleMania money-making match so don’t bother with the empty threats. Steph says he’s right before stating that next week, Hunter will have a match with Mark Henry … and Kane!! H goes crazy before we cut away.

John Cena comes down to the ring, receiving an incredibly loud mixed reaction. Cena runs down all of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania opponents from Snuka to Hunter to Flair to Henry and everyone in between, calling them all chumps and said that Taker’s managed to defeat a steady flow of untalented/slow monsters, washed up legends, and overrated superstars.
Cena then says he’s calling The Undertaker out next week and then goes on to guarantee that Taker WON’T show up, saying the Undertaker is “scared shitless” of The Boss, before dropping the mic and leaving to another thunderous mixed reaction.

After a break; Backstage, Matt and Jeff Hardy have a chat, clearly fatigued from their matches here tonight, but they are interrupted by Ric Flair and the World Heavyweight Champion Batista; both men dressed to compete. Flair tells Matt and Jeff that RVD and Sabu will be on the same page in the MITB match come WM, therefore the SD superstars need to get on the same page as well. Matt and Jeff clearly seem skeptical but soon say they’ll think about it, eliciting a smirk from Flair and a long glance from The Animal.

We finally get the main event, with Batista and Ric Flair teaming to take on Mr. Kennedy and Chris Sabin. Flair and Sabin dominate the majority of the action, playing off their veteran/youngster, high-flyer/grounded wrestler styles.
Batista and Kennedy never touch one another until the final tag is made and both men enter the ring to a thunderous ovation! They square off for a quick minute or two with neither man gaining a decisive advantage before Sabin and Flair are tagged back in. Eventually, Kennedy is dragged to the outside by Batista and tossed over the barricade and into the crowd!
The finish comes when Flair slaps the Figure Four on Sabin, grabbing the ring ropes for leverage and getting the submission victory at 10:26.

After the match up ends, The Nature Boy keeps the hold locked in for even more time as the ref calls for the bell and Sabin continues to tap out wildly. Soon enough, Batista reenters the ring and begins to swing away on Sabin’s face with hard shot after shot after hard shot, after hard shot.

Kennedy gets back over the barricade, and grabs a steel chair, before sliding back into the ring. Flair quickly lets go of the hold and both he and Batista take off out of the ring, just avoiding the chair-swinging Kennedy.

Kennedy and Batista stare at each other with the World Heavyweight Champion smirking while Kennedy looks rather disgusted as SmackDown! fade off of the air, with The Animal and The Nature Boy getting one more over on the 2007 Royal Rumble Winner.

Smackdown Review
Match 1:sounded like a good match with four athletic stars in the match.i liked the bit werelondon jumped over shelton as shelton was hoping to the top rope and the ending was very good,diddnt see it coming at all.

Match 2: good match choice with 2 superstars close to the same level,glad that jeff hardy didnt get the win because hes a fans favourite.hhh interview way to promo the tag match.

Match 3:decent match,would have liking to read more of the happenings but good aftermath with daniels and rey.

US title segment:i really enjoyed reading this,brilliant character use with king booker and regel,i wonder who the black men are aswellsoits good that you left a questionto be answered.

Main Event 1:not much info on the match but i loved the ending typical HHH thing to do and good to add to the rivalry.Good match making by steph for next week

Cena Promo:i liked the way he was playing takers chances down for a change,looking forward to match.

Main Event 2:good back and forth action and climax,but i would question Sabin being in the main event.Overall very good show!!!

Opening Match - This seemed like the best match you could have had to open up the show. I was intrigued when I read that Kendrick was looking disgusted at his partner. This was good booking and I like how you didn't have any attacks too soon as it would draw some attention away from Wrestlemania which i must say is looking soo good. And especially since I have seen it progressing i am really, really looking forward to it!

Hardy V Daniels - Again I like your matches, you seem to know who to put against each other and that I like. I was a little confused by the ending when you said he was distracted by Danger, is that some sort of superstar, I'm pretty sure it is if I can recall a previous show I read and reviewed. Anyway the match seemed good and I liked how you stated that their styles clashed a little, this added some brilliant realism to the match and the show overall.

Triple H interview - I could tell that Triple H seemed in character and I still seem to think that their will be some fisty-cuffs after this match between the pair. I certainly hope there will be anyway as that will add some drama to the match for Wrestlemania.

Booker and Sharmell - Having these two talk with the camera just picking them up was good before the promo and for some reason I am now really looking forward to this promo especially since it is in full.

Hardy V Mysterio - Again a good match. These two always put on great bouts and i could tell that you captured their chemistry really well. It was a nice addition to see Daniels appear and distract Mysterio. It all just seemed to fit and still stay realistic which was good. Again you showed off your booking skills here by not having Daniles run down and attack Mysterio which is something i would have done lol!

Booker Promo - Now this was some of youre best work if you don't mind me saying. I mean you captured King Booker perfectly and then when William Regal came out you captured him too. I liked how you didn't have everyone come down to talk but eventually to brawl. The two men was a good addition and I'm thinking that maybe one of them maybe Cor Von. Excuse me if I am wrong and he's already in your thread but I aint read for a while and have lost a tiny bit of track. Anyway I'm still excited now, and I'm thinking maybe they will play a part in the Wrestlemania match.

Backstage - Oh yeah, i was indeed right with Cor Von, i was also thinking Burke but was not sure. To be honest I don't think they suit with the whole King gimmick but maybe you will make it work because you are an exceptional booker. I'm still excited to see hoe this storyline unfolds.

First Main Event - Ohhh nice twist here with Triple H turning on The Rock tonight. Earlier when Hunter was interviewed I had an inkling that he had something up his sleeve. It was good to see this happen too as it added more fuel to the fire in this particular feud. Again some very good booking was showed here.

Mysterio - This was interesting. If I'm being honest I didn't really get this segment, sorry man!

Steph/HHH - This was a nice piece of booking, and I'm looking forward to see how Triple H gets himself out of this one. They seemed in character here and you knew what was going on which was great.

Cena - You have built him up to the such a great arse-hole that It's great to read! I still think Undertaker will show up but i guess i will have to wait and see. I really hope you keep things the way they are with Cena for a long time because for some reason it never gets old or stale!

Hardy's - Again i got a bit confused here but that's probablt just me being a 'dick'

Main Event - This was easily thr most exciting match of the night. I loved the fact that Kennedy and Batista didn't lay handsw on each other all march until the very end, this again was good booking and kept the hype going for Wrestlemania. The aftermath was extremely good and keeps me hooked for the final week before Wrestlemania. It was good that Batista and Flair got out of the way before Kennedy could 'whack' them,

Overall - Another good show DD Mac, and although it was a recap it still took me at least 45 minutes to review it. that just proves that it was well done. I liked most of your booking desicions tonight but a few i didn't get. Anyway i am now even more looking forward to the final week's shows and then of course Wrestlemania, keep up the amaxing work.

Oh and man this showes why you deserve to be top of the standings each month

The reason for bringing in Elijah Burke and Monty Brown now is the feeling that the two add the group element that Booker has been working well with for several months on end now. Expect Brown and Burke to end up as another piece of SmackDown’s tag team division once Booker’s current U.S. Title program ends, no matter how it ends.

Antonio Banks, CM Punk, Boris Alexiev, and the returning Beth Phoenix are expected to debut sometime after WrestleMania. Also expect Charlie Haas and Luther Reigns to be on the receiving end of pushes after WrestleMania.

Vince McMahon LOVED how the Mickie James-Victoria segment came off this week on Raw. Expect the two divas to get more time this week as well. Same goes for Maria, whom McMahon enjoyed in her ditsy role.

As of right now, it’s unknown as to which main event will be the final match on the card at WrestleMania 23. Though Mr. Kennedy won the Royal Rumble, the recent trend has seen Monday Night Raw take the main event, regardless of the alignment of the Royal Rumble winner. At the moment, McMahon feels that World Heavyweight Champion Batista is a bigger draw than WWE Champion Randy Orton so that could affect his decision.

Good news man. Burke and Brown being a team can be huge, and I'm sure that they will be seeing tag team gold on Smackdown within the next year. Not surprised about the response of the Mickie/Victoria segment from Raw, as the segment was written very well. MVP, Punk, Santino, and Beth making their debut after Mania is good, and I have a feeling that MVP and Punk will be recieving huge pushes on whichever brand they are on. Hass and Reigns recieving a push will be interesting. Finally, I hope that the Batista/Kennedy match goes on last, not just because Kennedy won the Rumble, but IMO it has recieved a better buildup than the Triple Threat Match on Raw.

[U]KOM has returned to BTB with WWE 2007: The Legacy and Aftermath of WrestleMania!
[U]

~ Are you kidding me?!! What a way to kick off the show with Hooligans and Shelton/Helms going at ot for 20 straight minutes in a time limit draw. It's fantastic to see that you are starting to build the tag division again, as it was looking a tad weak with the departure of The Hardys [even though that was the right move in my opinion]. It was nice to see that Benjamin actually had London beat until the time expired, which should add some real tension to the teaming they have at Wrestlemania. I'm not sure what to make of the Kendrick's look of "disgust" at his partner. Do you really have the strength in tag teams to break the Hooligans up? I don't think so, but it looks as though that might be what you are thinking, perhaps to bolster the Cruiserweight division. Also, I take my hat off to you, Mac, for showing your true skill as a booker by opening up the show with a daring move: a 20 minute match? That takes a lot of balls, as most of us [myself included] tend to opt for the much easier promo. Top notch, Mac

~ If Rock and Hunter get along smoothly, I'll be very surprised. Goddamn, what a win for Christopher Daniels!!! I know he has been booked as THE MAN of late, but beating a guy like Jeff Hardy [who is around Intercontinental title level] is still a major move in my opinion. This feud with Rey is epic.

~ I love the way Hunter has been hyping up his match with Rocky at Wrestlemania as a way to end Rock's career. MOTN plz? God knows with the amazing card you have.

~ Something going down with King Booker tonight? I hope so. The Book Man needs to get his momentum back in this thread.

~ You really did stack this week's card with some top notch matches didn't you, Mac? I mean now we get Hardy and Myserio going at it? What a treat! I suspected that Rey might lose this one, since Daniels won earlier, and the Hardys aren't jobbers. Matt gets some momentum fron this as well, which makes him my #2 pick for the MITB at Wrestlemania. Right now I think you are going to have Flair win it, but Hardy is the second choice I think. I think youngsters should get it anyway.

~ That was a glorious promo from King Booker. A great way to introduce new characters to this thread. You have the King's character nailed superbly well, and this was shown here. I love his line about "ROAGUE" Bobby Lashley, and his excuse about having asthma. Great stuff from Regal too, who is pure gold on the mic. Regal and Finlay as tweeners is an interesting choice, but I guess that Booker is such a great heel that anyone would get cheered against him. Nice aftermath with the brawl as well. Finlay takes a Scissors Kick, Regal gets the Elijah Express, and Lashley gets POOOOOUUUNNNCCCEEEDDD!!! Awesome! Monty and Burke are great additions to SmackDown and should make a fearsome tag team [I read your notes], although I wonder how they will work with the Royalty gimmick. The New King's Court is a good name though. Rif on the New Breed?

~ Sounded like a pretty good tag team match from Hunter/Rock and Kane/Henry, with the former obviously on top for the majority until Hunter PEDIGREES ROCK! Ha ha, I'd like to say I saw that coming a mile off, but I actually thought we might just get a heated stare down or something. Kane picks up the win ... in a way, but it's a win nonetheless. Rocky has to be going over at Wrestlemania at this rate, he's been on the back foot for this whole feud really.

~ Ooooh, I'm really digging the emotion that is going into the Cruiserweight title match, and Rey Mysterio is the absolute perfect guy to sell being down and out and miserable. This was a nice touch with him watching the footage of last week's interview with Chavo Guerrero, and it all seems to be leading to Rey going over at Wrestlemania, but I can see a 'passing of the torch' of sorts coming.

~ WTF! Stephanie puts Hunter in a Handicap match next week against Kane and Mark Henry? That's bizarre to say the least. I can't really see that match getting started at all; more than likely Umaga and Big Show are going to assault K&MH. We also need one final showdown between Rocky and Helmsley.

~ Well, here we get the weekly Cena promo as he continues to run down The Undertaker. I must admit, things have cooled down a little bit in my favourite Wrestlemania feud, as 'Taker hasn't appeared since Saturday Night's Main Event, and no matter how good Cena is on the mic [and he is DAMN good] it's hard to carry it all. Next week looks much more promising though, as with Cena calling out The Undertaker, we should be guaranteed one hell of a confrontation. I'm still torn on the Cena going over 'Taker at Wrestlemania idea, as it would be cool on one level, but like I said before, 'Taker's had his ass pretty much kicked in this feud so far.

~ Interesting backstage segment from the Hardys and Ric Flair. I doubt that Matt and Jeff will side with Naitch in the MITB match, as I think both Hardys are gradually turning face once again, where they belong. It's good to see you hyping the MITB a little bit, as it has seemingly been forgotten for a long time, and everything has just been set up for Flair to get a title shot. I hope I'm wrong.

~ Good Main Event between Flair/Batista and Sabin/Kennedy. Good choice keeping Big Dave and Double K apart for most of the contest, saving their major battle until Wrestlemania. I like Sabin's push in this thread, or at least I did until he jobbed rather easily to Naitch here. I guess it fits giving Flair momentum though, since he IS winning the MITB match and Sabin's not even on the card unfortunately. Nice aftermath with Kennedy making the save for Sabin and sending 'Tista running with a Steel Chair. Good god, I know neither man is great in the ring, but I can't wait for their match.

Overall this was a great recap, Mac, with one of the best opening to a shows anyone has written in a hell of a long time. 20 minutes of Hooligans and Benjamin/Helms is absolutely phenomenal. Great hype for Hunter/Rock too, as well as Daniels/Mysterio. Can't wait for the final two shows before Wrestlemania. Should be epic

Kicking off the show with a 20 minute epic is a nice move, good booking. A draw is interesting, I can still see Shelton/Helms ending up as the champs, but I just can't pick when that'll be as you keep throwing new stuff into the mix. The "disgust" Kendrick had to London, surely hinting about a split? Coz that's been to death around here

Chris Daniels goes over Jeff Hardy? That's a bold move to make, but then again, Hardy isn't doing much in this thread at the moment so I guess it keeps Daniels strong going into WM against the man who's gonna finally dethrone him, Rey Mysterio

Rock & Triple H being able to co-exist? Fuck nah. I bet Trips ends up sneak attacking Rocky sometime during the match

The matches are coming thick and fast at the moment, Rey going over Matt balances out Daniels winning earlier, but this isn't really the best way to build their feud tbh, fighting randoms. Anyways, we'll see what happens next week in the final stretch, but after the last few weeks, the momentum of this feud has been truly stalled here tonight with these matches and no interaction whatsoever

King Booker was on the money here, I can tell you love writing with him as you capture his character perfectly nearly every week. Regal getting mic time is different, but before long it's a wild brawl, Finlay involved too. Kid with braids? Elijah Burke? Bigger man, Monty Brown perhaps? Or Shad Gaspard? Anyways, Lashley is here too and this has gotten outta hand. Wow, this new group just dominated Lashley, Finlay & Regal here. Possible six man tag match next week to follow? Seems like the way it's going here. Nice segment overall, this new brotha version of the Court seems intriguing, maybe time for Booker to shake the King gimmick and the group to be something fresh? Anyways, I'll quit rambling and move on, saying this was a top segment to build an already heated feud

I don't see why this wasn't the main event...o wait because Kennedy and the jobber are still to come! Silly me, thinking Super Kennedy wouldn't be in the main event
Nicely booked and as expected Trips sticks a knife in The Rock's back, PEDIGREE time! Was sorta obvious it would happen, but after earlier, with Trips saying he'll co-exist, it's a swerve

Hmm Rey's mind playing games on himself after watching Chavo's interview? Will that affect him against Daniels at WM? He seems like it's his fault Chavo is retired

WOW! Trips booked against Kane & Henry by himself! That's not gonna sit well with The Game, he's gonna get brutalised, unless he brings along his trusty Sledgehammer of course

Cena is gonna get his ass kicked at WM. Fuck him, if Taker jobs to that overpushed Vanilla Ice I'll cry. Forever. Good job of getting Cena more heat, but I doubt anyone would be cheering for him against Taker, bar the little kids and the girls

Flair trying to get some help in the MITB from the Hardy's, meh, I don't think that'll end up being a co-existing threesome. I can't see those three winning, my money is going on RVD or maybe Matt Hardy actually. The rest aren't big enough to win MITB really

Thankfully Sabin jobs, and there is no clear cut winner between Kennedy/Batista tonight, leaving the build wide open for next week's final show, which should be a blast. I wonder who's gonna turn up the pressure and fuel the fire next week, my guess is Kennedy and his big mouth, but we'll see. Smartly booked ending to a good recap show

Good work as always Mac. <3

PS: Onto the news here. LOL @ Mickie getting more time . Just kidding, atleast the feud with Victoria is getting decent build, despite it being the worst match on the card. Fan of seeing MVP, Punk come through and Haas getting a push. Luther Reigns? rawffles I hope he gets nothing. Santino coming will be good, promo wise. Ugh not Phoenix too, she's horrible and freakishly ugly and manly. Eh I'd rather see HBK/Edge/Orton as the ME, because that would easily draw more than Batista/Kennedy could ever do. Three huge names compared to one huge name and one recognisable name, easy to see what would be the choice. But then again, you love Kennedy, so I'd say you'll end up having Kennedy/Batista as the ME

I know I've been slacking off when it comes to dishing out reviews. Hopefully that's rectified before Raw is posted.

The FINAL Raw before WrestleMania 23 takes place this Monday Night. With the biggest WWE show of the year only six days away, Monday's Raw has mega implications, especially the huge main event.

At the end of last week's broadcast, Edge and Shawn Michaels managed to fend off WWE Champion Randy Orton and his RKO Army. Afterwards however, HBK hit the Rated R Superstar with Sweet Chin Music, effectively ending their partnership of convenience. This week on Raw, the two superstars will meet one on one in the ring. Edge and Michaels feuded throughout 2006 but when the two meet on Monday, the winner could very well have the inside track to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23. Will it be the Heartbreak Kid or The Rated R Superstar who leaves with the victory? And what will be the involvement of the WWE Champion, "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton?

Speaking of championship implications, the Intercontinental Champion Carlito will host Carlito's Cabana this upcoming Monday night. And his guest - the challenger for his Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania, the "Wall Street Warrior" John Bradshaw Layfield. It'll most definitely be a battle of wits when these two confident and outspoken superstars are handed microphones on Monday Night Raw. But will things get physical just six days before the two meet for the Intercontinental Title on the grandest stage of them all?

"The Wrestling Machine" Kurt Angle will also be in attendance this Monday night and the Olympic Gold Medalist hasn't shied away from verbally trashing his WrestleMania opponent, Stone Cold Steve Austin, in recent weeks. Will The Texas Rattlesnake and the Olympian have a confrontation with tensions running high in anticipation of their Icon versus Icon battle at WrestleMania?

Also announced for Raw, Rob Van Dam teams up with Sabu, and America's Most Wanted to take on RKO Army members, Ken Doane, Chris Masters and MNM; the #1 contender for the Women's Championship, Victoria, takes on Melina.